COCTEAU JEAN (1889-1963). - Lot 60

Lot 60
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4000 - 5000 EUR
COCTEAU JEAN (1889-1963). - Lot 60
COCTEAU JEAN (1889-1963). autograph manuscript, Appogiatures, [1952]; 47 pages folio, and 58 pages in-4 or in-8. First state of the collection Appogiatures, with its drafts, the file of discarded pieces and some unpublished works. It was at the end of July 1952, in Santo-Sospir, at Francine Weisweiller's house, that Cocteau began to write poems in verse and prose intended for a collection that was to be published by Henri Parisot; then entitled Soucoupes volantes, it was completed in mid-August: "I have finished putting together the short poems in prose for Parisot. There will be twenty-six of them, unless the mechanism continues, which I do not wish because, in the long run, these writing exercises, illustrated by Baudelaire and Max Jacob, are tiring". A crossed-out dedication at the head of the manuscript indicates that Cocteau places himself, for these stylistic exercises, in the line of the lyricism of the Petits poèmes en prose and the fantasy of the Cornet à dés. When he received the typing, Parisot asked, in addition to corrections, to discard several poems, which prompted Cocteau to write about ten new ones. Appogiatures, comprising 51 poems, was published in 1953 by Éditions du Rocher, with a portrait of the author by Modigliani in the frontispiece and a drawing by Hans Bellmer. The edition of the OEuvres poétiques complètes de la Pléiade published a part of the poems discarded in "En marge d'Appogiatures" (p. 817-831), here indicated [Ma]. A. Cleaned-up manuscript. 47 folios (270 x 350 mm) of thick drawing paper torn from a block, written on the front in blue ink or blue ballpoint pen. This clean-up, dated at the end "15 August 1952", presents erasures and corrections; it is only partly paginated (1-25). This manuscript gathers 29 of the 51 poems of Appogiatures, and 15 poems discarded, including 9 [Ma] and 6 unpublished. The title page shows the original title Soucoupes volantes, crossed out and replaced by Appogiatures; date and place: "August 1952, Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat"; and the crossed-out dedication: "to the memory of Charles Baudelaire and Max Jacob who taught us these exercises [of writing crossed out] of style". The manuscript includes the following poems (the order is different from the collection, and some titles have been changed): Letter to [the editor strikethrough] a friend [Ma]; The traveler; Prairie de plumes; Son du cor; Crime passionnel; Seul; La pianiste; Le dentiste; Au poil [original title struck through: The French Language]; The Coachman of Rome; [Old Gypsy Strikethrough] Vienna; Such a Master as a Jack; Poetry Sporting Account; The Evening of Safeguards; Household Scene; Art; Mythology; Births [My]; [The Show Strikethrough] Board Book; Fêtes galantes; Laughter; The Sea; [The Hare and the Tortoise Strikethrough] The Blackboard; The Village; The Teacher; The Fisherman [unpublished]; Antibes [unpublished]; Flying Saucers; We Must Have a Little Fun; City of Waters; A Very Curious Exhibition; Le fantôme réaliste; Vase étrusque [Ma]; Vase with handle [Ma]; Ex voto [Ma]; [Saint biffé] Bienheureux Funeste [Ma]; [Le rouge et le noir biffé] La chance [Ma]; Coeur au ventre (mirliton à l'usage des barernes) [Ma, in 2 versions, one with 4 additional unpublished stanzas] ; Avant-garde [Ma]; Mine de rien; Le juge; Art poétique [unpublished]; Sous toute réserve [unpublished; on the back, draft of Ville d'eaux, here Ville seul]; L'accordéonaniste [unpublished]; Lettre [unpublished]. B. Drafts, added poems and discarded poems. 58 pages in-4 or in-8, in blue, black, red ink and pencil. This folder includes: * 30 poems published in Appogiatures, most of them in their very first version extensively corrected, sometimes without their titles; a few (added) cleared. * 18 poems collected in "En marge d'Appogiatures", some in several states: Pour l'éditeur (2); Coeur au ventre (3); Patmos (2); Paysage d'aube (2); Progrès en marche (2). * 11 unpublished poems (including 2 drafts of poems in the edited manuscript). Plus three drafts. * The autograph poem Pour Olivier [Larronde] (quatrain dated August 15, 1952), published in Le Passé défini (II, p. 314). The Appogiatures file thus reveals 13 poems that appear to be unpublished. Le Pêcheur (in draft, and on the net) : "All the gestures of the fisherman were simple but ceased to be so when one realized, not without surprise, that he did not fish"... Antibes (in draft, and on the net) : "Picasso copied a Matisse. Matisse copied a Picasso"... Poetic art (5 quatrains) : "If you want to write poems Don't look for the new Take instead apple marmalade Pour an egg yolk on it"... Sous toute réserve (5 quatrains) : "In the cellars of the Vatican Canonize a rich conclave And in the Vatican of the cellars Beautiful bearded men weigh the Aga Khan"... L'accordéonaniste (12 verses, the 1st draft appearing at the bottom of the draft of Compte rendu sportif) : "There is no ignominy / More exquisite than genius.
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